Welcome to Charleston Collegiate School! As we open our 40th year as an independent school on John's Island, we are excited about the possibilities that this school offers to the Lowcountry communities. The founders of this school had a vision for good education for the residents of John's Island and the Charleston area and for their children in the generations to follow. The foresight of this group has placed the school in a position to continue to grow and develop as educational needs in this country change. Our highly qualified faculty is dedicated to helping each individual Charleston Collegiate student realize his or her full potential, develop strong values, and discover how he or she will contribute to the community in his or her own unique ways. Children face many challenges as they pass from their early learning experiences to the later depths of educational programs. We are intent to help them meet each challenge with great success and personal growth.
Charleston Collegiate School is a product of many communities and diverse peoples. The groups include the original inhabitants of John's Island and surrounding rural communities, including those of African-Americans who have been here for many years, of settlers of Seabrook and Kiawah, of Latin Americans who have come lately to the island, and of folks from a wide variety of surrounding areas as far north as Awendaw and as far south as Edisto. Charleston Collegiate is a wonderfully diverse school, but the true assessment of diversity is whether community members respect and value each other for the different backgrounds, talents, and viewpoints that they contribute to the school. We work hard to foster an accepting environment just as this.
As a member of several state, regional, and national educational organizations, Charleston Collegiate takes a leading role in the ongoing development and improvement of independent education. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has been very involved in those organizations. It is a member of the Palmetto Association of Independent Schools, the South Carolina Independent School Association, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Center for Independent School Renewal, and the Education Records Bureau. Charleston Collegiate is also an affiliate school of the Coalition of Essential Schools.Charleston Collegiate currently enrolls approximately 265 students. Though we aim to remain a small school, we anticipate that with the continued urban sprawl onto John's Island, the school will continue to grow as it has in the past few years, and we have plans to create new programs and new facilities in the near future. In every way, Charleston Collegiate School is poised to serve its various communities as we move into the 21st century. We are becoming one of the most interesting small schools in the nation. We are a learning community where everybody matters.
J. Robert (Bob) Shirley, PhD
Head of School
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